The book of Acts contains the record of Paul’s ministry, describing enough opposition and suffering to discourage anyone from following in his steps (see Acts 13:3, 50; 14:5-6, 19; 16:22-24). All these events took place before Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica, where his preaching caused a riot in which several believers were arrested and beaten, and the apostle himself had to flee (Acts 17:5-9).

In light of these ceaseless trials, the last thing we would expect from Paul is confidence about his ministry. Yet he writes to the Thessalonians that “we have confidence in the Lord about you” (2 Thess. 3:4). Indeed, throughout his letters Paul exudes confidence in the success of his ministry enterprise. If we wonder at the source of this optimism, we find it in the apostle’s appeals for prayer. “Finally, brothers,” Paul begins the final section of his letters to the Thessalonians, “pray for us” (v. 3:1). Here is the secret not only of Paul’s success in ministry but especially of his confidence in the face of ministry trials: his confidence that God answers prayers.

Paul begins his final section not by writing just about prayer in general but specifically seeking prayer for the ministry of the gospel. As the apostle sees it, prayer is necessary for gospel ministry, so that “the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored” (v. 3:1). If anyone could seem to get by without prayer, that person would be the apostle Paul. Nonetheless, throughout his letters Paul solicits the prayers of fellow Christians.

For his own part, Paul was devoted to praying for others. It seems that he made it his practice to pray for someone whenever he heard or thought about the person. In the same spirit, Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). We find this same commitment to prayer in practically every Christian who has been greatly used by the Lord. Paul realized that the success of God’s Word does not rely on natural factors such as oratorical ability and a dynamic personality. Rather, since the gospel aims to bring spiritually dead unbelievers to saving faith, it relies on God’s power to convey spiritual life to those who hear and believe. Since the gospel requires the Holy Spirit’s working to open the hearts of those who would otherwise never believe, Paul knew that prayer is needed for the gospel to speed ahead and glorify God.

Another reason why Paul urgently desired prayer was to counter opposition to his ministry: “that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith” (2 Thess. 3:2). In Corinth, Paul was “opposed and reviled” by Jews who opposed the gospel (Acts 18:5-6, 12-13). He may well have these specific people in mind when he speaks of “wicked and evil men.” The word translated as “wicked” is better rendered as “unreasonable” or “wrongheaded” (Greek atopos). To be “unreasonable” and “evil” go together in hatred of the gospel.

Paul mentions “not all have faith” to point out that faith is God’s sovereign gift and that opposition to the gospel is inevitable. We should never be dismayed when people rise up in anger at the message of God’s grace or when worldly powers misrepresent the gospel as something narrow or bigoted. Without the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, no one has faith and everyone hates the light that Jesus shines. Jesus explained: “This is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). The reality of this opposition urges us not to despair but to prayer.

Even as Paul appeals for prayer in light of the slow advance of his preaching in Corinth and the serious opposition against it, he simultaneously expresses his confidence in this very ministry. “We have confidence in the Lord,” he writes (2 Thess. 3:4), just as we should have confidence in our own prayers for gospel ministry. If we ask why Paul was so confident in prayer for the gospel, one answer is found in verse 3 where he declares that “the Lord is faithful.” The apostle states this to form a decisive contrast. Our problem is that “not all have faith.” “But the Lord is faithful,” and this is what really matters. Like Paul, we should pray for gospel success in preaching, in witnessing, and raising our children, not because we trust our own labors or because we see spiritual promise in those whom we seek to reach, but solely because we trust God to be faithful to bless and empower His gospel for salvation of those whom He will call.

Paul expresses confidence not only in God’s faithfulness to his present ministry of the gospel but especially in God’s saving work among the Thessalonians: “We have confidence in the Lord about you: (v. 4). The key phrase is “in the Lord.” Paul knows that his readers possess union with Christ through saving faith; he is confident about them because they are “in the Lord.” This is the second source of our confidence: the decisive difference it makes to be in Christ and to have Christ in us, experiencing saving faith and the reality of the new birth. However unpromising Christians may seem, we know that great things are in store. We might come to Christ with great problems, character defects, and crushing failures in life. Yet Paul wrote that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). For this reason, whenever someone is “in the Lord,” we anticipate supernatural power for change and spiritual growth. God’s faithfulness does not relieve us from needing to persevere in prayer. Instead, confidence in God will keep us praying until God has sped forth the gospel and overcome spiritual opposition.

Verses 3-5 presents a brief description of what God does in saving us through faith in Christ. First, Paul rejoices that God is faithful to “establish you and guard you against the evil one” (v. 3). This is the apostle’s way of describing a true conversion to faith in Christ. Fatih does not involve a bare profession of faith, but our being rooted in Jesus Christ. In terms of Jesus’ parable of the soils, true salvation is not like the seed that falls amid the thorns of worldly cares and desires, which choke faith to death, or like the seed that falls in shallow soil, where the heat of tribulation causes it to wither (Matt. 13:20-22). Instead, saving faith is like the seed that falls in good soil, so that it “bears fruit and yields” (Matt. 13:23).

Second, God enables believers to obey His Word. Paul writes: “We have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command” (v. 4). Contrary to the easy-believism practiced so widely today, biblical evangelism includes obedience to the Bible. Jesus’ Great Commission tells us to “make disciples…, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). We must therefore pray for the obedience of those who profess faith in Christ, trusting God’s faithfulness and the Holy Spirit’s power to train them to a life of practical godliness.

Third, in verse 5, Paul speaks of God’s bringing believers to spiritual maturity: “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” Growing in our knowledge of God’s love, we mature in our love for God. Relying on Christ’s faithfulness as our Savior, we persevere through steadfast faith in Him. Paul particularly notes that in maturing us, God directs our hearts to spiritual maturity. This is something that we should pray for: “O God, direct my heart!” We can be confident that God will answer. In the words of Hebrews 13:21, He will equip us “with everything good that [we] may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.”

So how can we learn to pray with greater confidence in the Lord? First, we will gain confidence in prayer by increasing in our knowledge of what God is like. Knowing God comes only through study of the Bible. The Bible assures us that through faith in Christ we become God’s dearly beloved children. As a faithful Father, God is certain to receive our prayers with love and concern. As God’s children, Christians pray with confidence. Jesus promised: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9).

Second, we grow confident in prayer through positive experiences in which we clearly see how graciously God has intervened. As we start praying about our needs, and especially for ministry situations, is that we will learn how powerful prayer is in the hands of our gracious God.

Third, we gain confidence as we pray for the things that our Lord desires in our lives. Jesus said, “Whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you” (John 16:23). “In Jesus’ name” means “in accordance with Jesus’ will.” We do not

know whether God wants us to have a certain job or improved health. But we do know that God wants us to repent of sins, grow in godly character, and offer ourselves for the spread of the gospel. When we pray for these and other priorities of Christ, we can be certain of a positive answer. Praying in confidence thus starts with seeking from God the things that God is seeking in and through us. As we grow spiritually and become more committed to Christ’s work of salvation in our lives and in the lives of others, our confidence in prayer soars through God’s power.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 Study Questions:

For what reasons does Paul ask for prayer in verses 1-3?

Why might Paul need prayer to be rescued from evil and wicked people?

Think about Christian leaders you know and the opposition that may result when they shine God’s light, even with God’s love, in dark places. How can you pray for them as the Thessalonians did for Paul?

On the night of His arrest, Jesus expressed concern for His disciple Simon Peter, who faced a threat that was too great for him. Peter had boasted that he would be more faithful than the others, not knowing what was in store for him that very night. Jesus warned: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31). Under this diabolical pressure, Simon Peter failed utterly that night, denying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed (Luke 22:34, 54-62).

The apostle Paul’s converts in Thessalonica faced a similar threat under persecution for their faith. So far, they had done well, and Paul had boasted of their steadfastness (2 Thess. 1:4). There would be greater tribulation yet to come, however, because of the Antichrist’s opposition. How would believers hold firm in faith when beset by supernatural evil attacks?

Paul’s answer to the Thessalonians’ need was the same as the answer that Jesus gave to Peter on his dark night of the soul: “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32). Though Peter stumbled, he did not ultimately fall because Jesus interceded on his behalf. In the benediction of 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, Paul likewise appeals to Christ’s intercession on behalf of His church. The final verses of chapter 2 are a benediction, a “good word,” uttered by the apostle in the authority of his office. These verses express not merely a personal prayer desire but an apostolic declaration of Christ’s intersession and the resulting blessings that flow from the Father. Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed.” Similarly, Paul declared to his needy friends, “Christ will pray for you.” His benediction therefore consists, first, of a reminder of the God to whom he prays, second, of the saving love that ensues our blessing, and third, of his desire for them to persevere despite trials in a life of practical godliness.

Paul begins his benediction by reminding the Thessalonians of the God to whom he prays. In doing this, he incidentally makes a striking assertion of the deity of Jesus Christ: “Now may the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father,” he begins (v. 16). Note that Paul lists Jesus together with God the Father, praying with equal respect to both persons. Moreover, the apostle lists Jesus’ name first, which would be blasphemy if he did not believe in the full deity of Christ. The probable reason for this unusual ordering is Paul’s emphasis in the preceding verses on the victory of Christ in His return.

Another reason that Paul named Jesus first might be that Christians pray to the Father through the Son. As the incarnate Christ, Jesus is the Mediator between man and God (1 Tim. 2:5), The Bible teaches, therefore, that the trajectory of prayer is “through [Christ]” and “to the Father” (Eph. 2:18). The question now comes to you: Does your faith accept the Bible’s teaching of Jesus as the Son of God? Without this belief, you cannot be a Christian. The apostle John wrote: “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

Having identified the recipients of his prayer, Paul continues by noting the ground of his petition. He prays for God’s help in the future on the basis of God’s act of salvation in the past: “who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace” (v. 16). This brief statement contains some of the greatest claims ever made. First, the apostle says that he prays to God “who loved us.” It makes sense that he would do this, since we naturally turn for help to those who have loved us previously. Let the impact of Paul’s words sink in. God loves you, if you are in Christ. Does that truth shape all the rest of your thinking about life and God? It should, because the Bible over and over declares God’s love.

God’s love for us is the spring of every comfort and encouragement that flows to those who trust in Christ. Paul goes on to note the “eternal comfort” that God has given His people. Because God’s comfort to those who trust in Christ is eternal, it will “outlast the afflictions of this age and the judgment to come.” In this life, the trials of the world oppress and threaten us. But God has given us comfort that reaches into the age to come and provide us with the resources of heaven to endure in faith.

Paul adds God’s gift of “good hope” (v. 16). Eternal comfort speaks to our present blessing with God, whereas “good hope” speaks to our confidence for the future. Since God has loved us by sending His Son to secure our salvation, Christians are optimistic about what the future holds, even when persecution rages against us. Paul’s “good hope” relates specifically to the return of Christ, who comes “to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted” (2 Thess. 1:6-7). If the future holds the overthrow of all evil and the consummation of our entry into eternal glory with Christ, then Christians have every reason to live in hope for the future.

Paul has set before us God’s love and His gifts of eternal comfort and a good hope. So far, all of this is still the preface to his actual prayer request. These blessings in Christ are the ground on which Paul stands as he turns to God to meet the needs of his afflicted readers. God’s love and saving gifts, eternally confirmed to all who believe in Christ, are the soil in which bold confidence in prayer may flourish and the Rock on which Paul may stand to pronounce that God is certain to meet His people’s needs. To this end, Paul prays that God will “comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word (v. 17).

Paul focuses not on the great events in his reader’s outward circumstances, but rather on God’s work in the hearts of the persecuted believers so that their lives may honor Him. First, Paul prays that God would “comfort your hearts.” This is the same word for comfort that he used in verse 16, with emphasis on “encouragement.” Earlier, Paul reminded us that God had given us reasons for eternal encouragement; now he prays that God would work these gospel truths into our hearts so that we receive the inward benefit of them.

Paul’s prayers, recorded across the span of his ministry and throughout his epistles, clarify the priority for our lives as Christians. We are to be established in our knowledge of God’s love for us – a love declared in the past but now applied inwardly to our hearts by the Holy Spirit – and encouraged so that we have spiritual motivation to live for Christ. We keep expending our efforts to gain positive settings, not realizing that God sometimes keep us in trials so as there to glorify Himself in us. Therefore, Paul prays for God to give “eternal comfort and good hope through grace” in order to “comfort [our] hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”

Paul concludes his benediction by praying for us to be established “in every good work and word” (vv. 16-17). The apostle is referring to a lifestyle of practical godliness, with works and words that follow the teaching and example of Christ. In concluding his end-times teaching with an appeal for practical godliness, Paul matches Jesus’ emphasis in teaching on the same subject. Jesus concluded His Olivet Discourse on the second coming by telling of the praise He will give to His sheep when they are gathered to Him in the final judgment (Matt. 25:35-36). Jesus then indicated that the glorified believers will be surprised that He noticed such seemingly unimportant works. But the Lord responded by saying how much our daily godliness and love mattered to Him (Matt. 25:40). By Jesus’ own reckoning, in light of the awesome events planned by God for history, the thing that matters most is the daily love of God shown in the works and words of the people who claim His name. The supportive visit, the welcoming meal, the fervent prayer, and the timely word of truth are esteemed so highly by our returning Lord that He takes them as offered to Himself.

Paul has offered a benediction – a good word – reminding us of God’s love and praying for God to apply His gospel grace to our lives. His purpose is that we would become a living benediction to the glory of God through “every good work and word” (v. 17). The apostle’s benediction for us is designed to become a benediction in us so that Christ may speak a benediction to us on the day of His coming.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Study Questions:

Is your life a benediction for the blessing of others and the glory of Christ?

In the midst of all the problems with deceiving words the Thessalonians had heard, or prospects of being troubled by the lawless one and Satan, in verses 13-17 what does Paul want them to focus on about God?

How do you see God’s power being exercised precisely by your standing firm and holding tight?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 the apostle’s doctrine of salvation is thoroughly Trinitarian. Considering first the sovereign will of the Father, he urges us to be seated in the truth of God’s election to salvation. Moving to the Spirit’s sanctifying work, he urges us to walk in holiness and truth (vv. 13-14). Continuing to the glory that believers share through union with Christ, God’s Son, Paul urges us to “stand firm” in the gospel truth committed to us through the apostles (v. 15).

It is significant that Paul begins a passage with the word But. Realizing this, we note the connection between Paul’s confidence of salvation here and his alarming portrayal of the Antichrist in the preceding verses. The apostle’s point is that while there is great evil in this world that poses a deadly threat, there remain the strongest reasons for confidence when it comes to true believers in Jesus Christ. “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers” (v. 13), Paul writes, going on to note the mighty work of the triune God that secures salvation for His people.

Paul’s first ground for confidence against the evil afoot in the world is the sovereign election of the Father: “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers by the Lord, because God chose you…to be saved” (v. 13). Believers are secure in salvation because their destiny was decided by God’s choice of them before any decision on their part. The Bible teaches that from God’s perspective our salvation began in eternity past, when He chose us to be saved through faith in Christ. Romans 8:30 begins a chain of saving links – similar to Paul’s teaching in Thessalonians – with reference to God’s sovereign predestination: “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Opponents to election reply that God merely chose that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. Or they argue that God did not choose any particular people before their faith, but only foresaw who would believe in Jesus and predestined that by believing they would be saved. The problem with these views is what the Bible actually says! Second Thessalonians 2:13 says not that God chose a principle of salvation but that “God chose you…to be saved.” Election is of persons to salvation. Moreover, God did not choose the elect because He foresaw their faith, but simply because of His sovereign love for them. Paul declares, “In love he predestined us” (Eph. 1:4-5). This is consistent with how Jesus described election in His High Priestly Prayer to His Father, saying that He had received authority “to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” (John 17:2).

The doctrine of election is rooted not only in eternity past but also in the unconditional love of God. It is not incidental that Paul identifies his readers as “brothers beloved by the Lord” (2 Thess. 2:13). We see the same affection in Ephesians 1:4-5, where Paul notes that we are predestined “in love.” Love is the foundation of a believer’s security, despite the awful threat posed by Satan and his antichrists. God said of old: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jer. 31:3). It is God’s loving faithfulness to His elect people that secures us for salvation in the face of evil and spiritual danger.

The Christian’s salvation is rooted in eternity past but lived out in the power that comes from the Holy Spirit. The image of walking in the Spirit’s sanctifying power is Paul’s second ground for the believer’s confidence. Whereas 2 Thessalonians 2:13 begins by saying that believers are saved by God’s electing grace, Paul continues to see us as saved “through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

The word sanctification often refers to the believer’s subjective transformation from sin into holiness. Yet the idea of sanctification also has a broader, objective meaning, which Paul has in mind here. God chose His people in eternity past, but in the present, He set them apart for service to Himself. This is the apostle’s second reason for rejoicing that his readers will not be made captive by Satan: God has set them apart once and for all to be holy to Himself.

The believer’s security from the coming evil is experienced by being seated in God’s eternal election and by walking in faith through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Thessalonians 2:14, Paul turns to glorification of God the Son, Jesus Christ – a transformation to which Christians are called through the gospel. By standing with Christ in His glorification, believers are made secure against the coming onslaught of the evil one.

Paul connects believers to Christ by our calling through the gospel. This completes the Trinitarian outlook on salvation. According to these verses, the Father elects His people, who are then sanctified by the Holy Spirit and called through the gospel to salvation in Christ. Paul refers here to what theologians define as the effectual call, which is the preaching of the gospel as it goes forth with God’s power to open the heart to saving faith in Christ. This saving call joins the believer to Christ as he or she trusts and begins following Him. Levi the tax collector rose up when Jesus said, “Follow me,” leaving his seat of sin and becoming the disciple Matthew (Matt. 9:9). The Savior’s call in his life had an immediate effect. Likewise, everyone who is saved is called by God to believe in and stand with Jesus before the world. The effectual call is always “through [the] gospel” (v. 14), the good news of Christ’s saving work for sinners.

Whenever God’s sovereign grace in salvation is emphasized, as it certainly is in verses 13-14, there is a tendency for some readers to draw the conclusion that nothing is therefore required on our part as believers. Paul makes it clear, that this is far from the truth. It is God who saves us, to be sure, but the gift of salvation requires a wholehearted commitment to Christ and His saving truth. “So then, brothers,” Paul concludes, “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter’ (v. 15).

How then, do Christians “stand firm” against enemy attack in the victory won by Jesus? Paul explains by urging us to “hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (v. 15). Far from being able to relax as Christians, we must lay hold of the gospel truth in the same way that a man at sea braces himself against the mast in the thrashing winds of a storm. “Stand firm!” Paul cries. “Hold fast!” This is how we withstand the present course of evil working through intimidation, temptation, and false teaching in the world.

Paul specifically calls us to hold hast to “the traditions.” Here we see the Bible’s emphasis on a body of doctrinal truth that Christians receive and believe. Similarly, Paul urged Timothy to “follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me” (2 Tim. 1:13). These statements refute the idea that Christians do not need to know theological terminology (“sound words”) and doctrinal truth (“the traditions”) that are handed down to us. On the contrary, it is valuable for churches to profess creedal statements in our public worship, thereby holding “to the traditions” of biblical Christianity. It is vital, however, for us to distinguish between apostolic tradition and traditions that are merely fabricated by men. Any doctrine that we embrace must therefore be based on and built upward from the written record of the Bible.

What difference does it make to us, beset in a world of darkness, idolatry, and empty unbelief, to believe in the gospel? Jesus put it this way: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). According to Paul, eternal life is grounded in God’s sovereign election “from the beginning” and comes to life in us as we answer the call to believe the gospel and follow Jesus Christ. If we are seated in God’s sovereign grace, walk in the Spirit’s power, and stand firm with Christ against unbelief, holding fast to the truth, not only will we be freed from the evil powers of sin and death, but we will also “obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:14) so that God’s saving blessings are forever glorified in us.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 Study Questions:

In verses 13-14, Paul thanks God for His activity in the Thessalonian believers. What progression of the spiritual life and journey do you see in these verses?

How would holding “tight to the traditions” enable the Thessalonians to stand firm in the face of troubled times?

What can you do to hold tight to the traditions taught by the apostles in order to face the web of lies that threaten and the troubles that challenge us in the world?